Royal balls are such a bore, aren't they?
by Angus of Sherlock's
Summary: Takes place after The Avengers. Loki is back home, free from Thanos's control. He's in a good mood and it's all thanks to her.


"Royal balls are such a bore, aren't they?" Loki asked, walking up to Temida. She smiled at him.

"This one's not bad and you know it. The Midgardians are a funny folk." She turned her head to observe Tony Stark as he tried to explain rocket science to Fandral. "I know you're enjoying this as much as I am."

"You know me so well." He said with a slight smile and she had to stop herself from frowning, knowing there was more to the phrase. There always was a second meaning to his words and she had learned to recognise it years ago. Yes she knew him well. But apparently she was the only one. The only one who knew him well enough to know that he would never, ever murder that many people, that he didn't want to be king. He never craved power. "Hey." He said, stepping closer. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise. I would be bitter too. And it's good you're feeling that." _There was a time you thought you deserved treatment like this._

"But today is a night of celebration." His eyes glinted and he bowed to her deeply. "May I have this dance?" He extended his hand to her and she schooled her expression. They were friends, yes, but he was a prince. _And_ _should be king._ She bowed back, deeper than he did and placed her hand in his.

"It would be an honour."

They had both agreed that protocol and rules were important (even if some where made to be broken). So even though they've been dancing together at every ball they attended, they still did it the proper way, unlike most of the other guests. Thor himself, when he did dance (which was only when he had to) just chose a lady and trudged onto the dance floor with neither grace nor elegance. But then again, the Old Rules were pretty much ignored and either way, dancing was deemed fit for ladies, not warriors (which was quite unlogical - as the old Midgardian saying goes, it takes two to tango).

Loki always preferred balls at Vanaheim, the realm of the Elves. They were much more civilised, welcoming and frankly, had better food. The dances were always magnificent there - it was a tradition that the warriors of the realm opened them and it was the greatest honour to be invited to join them. Elves, and Loki very much agreed with them on this, saw fighting as a different kind of dance. It was there that Loki acquired his skills. He never showed them off at Asgard though. But he wasn't a scared young boy anymore.

"You remember that dance from the winter festival?" He said softly into Temida's ear as he led her to the almost empty dance floor. She nodded with a grin. "You up for it?" She didn't reply, but he already knew the answer. She was always up to anything. They stilled to a halt when they reached the middle and their eyes locked. Her's were filled with amusement and excitement, his with joy.

He waved his hand and the music stopped. People turned around and both he and Temida ignored the groans from the crowd. They were used to it. Loki lowered his arm and a new tune started to play. It was beautiful. Loki pulled Temida close and they started moving together. It wasn't about showing off. They never looked away from each other, their faces straight but joy shining through their eyes. It was years since they last danced together. The music started to change, becoming more lively. Everyone else had their eyes glued to the pair. The Asgardians felt uncomfortable with the whole show. It looked nice, but was all too... feminine for them. They wanted to scoff but something in the way the two dancers moved stopped them from doing so. The guests from the other realms (consisting mainly of Elves) just smiled and enjoyed the scene. Most of them have seen Loki and Temida dance countless of times. However, there was once small group that was absolutely awestruck. The Avengers. Who thought that Loki could make something so beautiful? The man that tried to kill them was now gliding across the floor with a stunning girl in his arms. It was Loki! Loki the maniac, dancing like nothing they've seen before.

"I've never thought him to be the ballet type of guy." Tony whispered and immediately got shushed by the group. "Sorry."

Loki and Temida hadn't yet realised that they had that big an audience. The pair had matching grins on their face as they headed towards the ending of the song. Loki concentrated on using his magic to gently raise them above the floor and they finished three meters above the crowd. With sweat running down his face, Loki never let happier. He and Temida stood there looking at each other for a couple beats and he couldn't hold it in any longer. He laughed and her face spread into a smile.

"We still got it in us." He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to his chest in an embrace.

"I missed this. Please don't get mind-controlled ever again." His arms tightened.

"Next time you'll rescue me. Again. And we'll be back here."

"Eh, I'm always rescuing you." She said her face against him and he felt his heart skip.

"You're always rescuing me." He repeated softly. Suddenly they heard clapping. He let her go and they both looked down and saw every non-asgardian clapping.

"Bravo!" Tony yelled and the pair saw the whole group of Avengers (excluding Thor) smiling widely while the asgardians just rolled their eyes and went back to drinking. Loki slowly released his magic and they lightly landed on the floor. The midgardians immediately came up to them.

"That was amazing."

"Stunning."

"Beautiful."

"I've never seen anything like it!"

Loki smiled. He was in a good mood and he never really disliked any of these mortals. "We appreciate it. Temida, these are the Avengers." She grinned at them. "This is Temida, my closest friend." He said to the group. "I apologise, we would love to chat, but I'm afraid a dear friend of ours is waiting for us. We'll see you tomorrow." The team all echoed their goodbyes and the elegant pair walked off towards a group of elves.

"I think you won them over." Temida said teasingly.

"I should have known that Midgardians appreciate dance. It somehow never even crossed my mind they would react this way." He said, amused.

"Well, their culture is very developed. Unlike us, they have a love for literature and arts in general."

"I know. We have had many discussions on this topic, remember?" He grinned at the memories and playfully pulled her closer to him with the arm around her waist. She giggled.

"Stop it, you know I'm ticklish. And of course I remember, that was when Thor had a fussy fit about us not joining him to play. Somehow the situation was made to be your fault and we escaped the whole thing by locking ourselves in the library."

"That was fun, wasn't it?"

"We got stuck." He pouted and she rolled her eyes at him. He never grew out of puppy eyes.

"I eventually figured out the spell." She raised her eyebrows. "I did! Who cares it took five days?"

"I never said it wasn't fun." They finally stooped in front of the group of elves. In the centre of the group was a tall, elegant elf dressed in purple robes. Both of them bowed.

"Lord Enristeil, it's a pleasure to see you." Temida said. Enristeil bowed back.

"Lady Temida, Lord Loki. Believe me, pleasure is all mine. I see you two haven't lost your touch, that was an amazing performance. Not many seemed to understand it's value." He frowned. "And King Odin has been giving you the bad eye for some time now. Especially you, Lady Temida."

Temida smiled sadly. "That's the way things are on Asgard. And I'm afraid King Odin doesn't like me very much."

"His loss." Enristeil said rather bluntly. He held little respect for the king. "And when will your crowning ceremony take place?" He asked, turning to Loki and the prince sighed. He knew Enristeil was smart and well orientated in the politics of all the realms.

"You know very well that Thor is first in line to the throne."

The elf looked surprised. Damn the acting abilities of elves. "How's that possible? Surely Prince Thor isn't competent enough to lead the people? He chose to become an Asgard warrior years ago! Is he returning to the path of becoming a leader?"

"Please Enristeil. You know how things work here. I know you're trying to help and I appreciate that. But I am not becoming king here. I don't want to lead these people, people who shunned me all my life." Loki placed his hand on the elf's shoulder and squeezed it. "I'll be fine. I have Temida by my side and I'm happy for now." The elf sighed.

"You're always welcome in our realm, remember that. The both of you." He bowed.

"Farewell Enristeil, may we meet again." Temida said and bowed as Loki followed suit.

"Farewell Temida, farewell Loki. May we meet again." The two asgardians walked off. Around them drunk warriors staggered around and laughter was heard from every corner of the hall.

"Now it's time to mingle." Temida looked up at Loki with a challenging look on her face. "Just kidding. Let's change and head towards that clearing in the woods. The stars are bright tonight, we can continue our search for Hestia '91. I'll take the blanket, you take the books."

"Oh gods, how I missed you." Temida said smiling. Meet you outside in a couple of minutes!" She walked off and Loki followed her with his gaze.

"I missed you too." He said with a soft smile. "You're always rescuing me." He tried to steady his heartbeat but failed. _Oh well. It is a nice feeling._

* * *

 **Yay, it's done! So intended as a one shot, but if you guys liked it then I might write a story about these two cause I kind of fell in love with them along the way. It would start years before the first Thor movie. You up for it?**

 **Please tell me what you think about this! I'm open to criticism and love everything you guys write! I will answer questions and enjoy weird reviews. (You can write me stuff not related to the story. Like what's your animal's name.)**

 **I accept prompts for everything Marvel.**

 **See ya in a potential new chapter! Writer out!  
**


End file.
